Career and Major Choice Checklist
Here are some steps to follow as you begin the process of evaluating different careers in preparation for choosing or changing a major.
What have you have enjoyed most in your life? What you have enjoyed least or have found most frustrating?
- Why did you enjoy or dislike each activity?
- Do you think that your attitude would change if you had more education or training? Would it make a difference if you did it in a different setting or with different people?
Make a list of reasons why you like to study science and a list of reasons why you don't. Compare the two lists. Which is longer?
If your “don’t like” list is longer, you might want to examine your reasons for studying science. For a fulfilling career, there must be a good match between your natural abilities and what is expected in various professions.
What are your future family and financial plans?
- How widespread are jobs in the career field you are interested in? Will you have to move? If you marry, will you expect your partner to move to a new location with you?
- Do you have or plan to have children? Can you support them? Will your future career allow you to have time to spend with them?
- If you had to borrow money, how much debt will you carry beyond your school years? How much credit card debt do you have?
What are your personal values?
- Do you have a need to help others? To protect the environment?
- Will the career you envision allow you to express these values?
- What will the social impact of your choices be?
How well will your personality function in your future career? Think about the day-by-day activities of a career:
- Are you more comfortable working inside or outside? Do you like an environment that is constantly changing, or one that stays about the same from day to day? Do you like to travel?
- How important is the prestige of your position? Do you like the depth of a single project or the variety of a changing scene? Do you prefer a more formal or a less-formal atmosphere? How will your work mesh with family life and other obligations?
- Self-assessment tools can help you identify what kinds of work environment you prefer.
Imagine yourself in the perfect job, 10 years from now.
- What are you doing? Why do you think you imagined this particular job?
- If you can’t imagine anything, that’s OK. It just means that you need to learn more about yourself and the world of work.
Refine your Choices
Now you know a LOT more about yourself, and what you're looking for.
Once you have identified some majors and careers that sound interesting, it’s time for a little more research! You want to make your choice based on sound evidence:
Do you have personal experience in the field you are interested in?
- If not, then you should try it out! You can do this by job shadowing, finding a mentor, or volunteering. You don't want to get into your dream graduate program and discover you are allergic to the animal you're studying.
Seek out people in careers you are interested in, and interview them.
- How do they spend their time? What do they find most satisfying and most disagreeable? Does the life that they describe appeal to you? Ask them what they have learned that they wish they had known early in their careers.
What are the most important technical skills in each career you are interested in? In what MSU majors can you learn these skills?
- Remember, you might be able to major in one field (zoology) and still gain skills of value from another field (molecular biology). Check with your academic advisor to see what electives you might be able to take.
Employers value your “soft” skills, or personal qualities, as much as your technical expertise.
- For a list of what corporate recruiters are looking for, read “Seven Must Have Personal Attributes That Get You Hired” from AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science).